The Foreign Ministry has posted a video on its official X account promoting the narrative that a Jew killed John the Baptist, one of the most important figures in Christianity.
According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist is considered the one who heralded the coming of Jesus and baptized him in the waters of the Jordan River — a foundational event in the Christian world that became a ritual practiced by billions of believers over the years. Watch:
Video shared by the Foreign Ministry promotes a narrative that a Jew murdered John the Baptist
(Video: Foreign Ministry spokesperson)
The video features Sharon Regev, director of the Foreign Ministry’s department for Cultural and Academic Cooperation, who is also a tour guide by profession. It was filmed in Sebastia in Samaria, the capital of the historic Kingdom of Israel.
In the video, Regev says: “We are in Sebastia, in a beautiful Byzantine church that, according to tradition, is the burial place of the head of John the Baptist, who prophesied the coming of Jesus. During the Roman period, he became a threat to the royal family, and eventually Herodias, the wife of King Herod Antipas, ordered his beheading. John the Baptist’s head is buried here behind me. His body is buried in another church which is now the Great Mosque in the village of Sebastia.”
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John the Baptist was executed by beheading by the Jewish ruler Herod Antipas, the son of Herod, king of Judea
(Photo: Foreign Ministry spokesperson)
The video received more than 40,000 views and was shared by all Israeli embassies around the world. It was accompanied by a post that read: "History feels different when you're standing where it happened. Welcome to Sebastia, a place that is more than just an archaeological site. First named Shomron, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. Later it became a central city in Judea and according to Christian tradition, it is the place where John the Baptist was laid to rest. A place where Jewish and Christian history continue to meet."
But officials in the Foreign Ministry believe this inadvertently is causing major damage to Israel in the Christian world. It emerged that the video was published without being approved by the ministry’s experts on Christianity, and ministry officials said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was also angry about its posting. Despite all this, the video has not yet been removed.
“Israeli diplomats are expected to know history, and even more so Christian history. This is a public diplomacy disaster," a foreign ministry official said. "To post on the official channels a video stating that a Jew murdered John the Baptist is foolishness at best and a farce at worst. What is the next stage? A video about Judas Iscariot handing Jesus over to the Romans?”
John the Baptist was a Jew who lived in Judea during the Second Temple period and was a relative of Jesus. He is considered a saint, a spiritual teacher and the one who prophesied the coming of Jesus, and his work is described in the New Testament. According to tradition, he baptized people as part of their purification process, hence his name. He baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, in an event considered highly central in Christianity.
A painting of Christian saint John the Baptist
(Photo: Shutterstock)
According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was executed by beheading by the Jewish ruler Herod Antipas, the son of Herod, king of Judea. According to tradition, the act was carried out at the request of Herodias, Herod’s wife, and her daughter Salome, because John the Baptist had criticized the forbidden marriage of Herod and Herodias.
Only a few months ago, Sa’ar appointed diplomat George Deek as special envoy to the Christian world. Deek is an Arab Christian diplomat who is considered successful and well liked, but the Foreign Ministry did not consult him before posting the video. Some in the ministry are wondering what the purpose of posting the video was in the first place, and suggest that the goal may have been to appeal to the right-wing base and show that Sebastia is connected to the Jews.
Another Foreign Ministry official wondered how the video made it through the chain of approvals. “Every video that is produced goes through a chain of approvals: the head of the digital division, the deputy director general for public diplomacy, the professional official responsible for the field and usually also the Foreign Ministry director general. Did they all fail to understand the event? It is important that the matter be investigated thoroughly and that those responsible be held accountable,” the official said.
The Foreign Ministry said in response: “The video is part of a series of products within the Foreign Ministry’s public diplomacy campaign against the Palestinian Authority’s attempt at UNESCO to appropriate heritage sites, such as Sebastia, and erase the history and Jewish connection to the place. This specific video was intended to present the site’s historical, archaeological and religious importance to the Christian heritage connected to it.
“The video describes a familiar and well-known event according to Christian tradition, and it contains no mention of Jews or assignment of collective responsibility to them. Another video in the same series focused on the Jewish heritage of the site.
The claims of a disgruntled official from within the system will not change the fact that the video was received very positively and was highly successful among target audiences around the world. The Foreign Ministry, through the special envoy to the Christian world and the ministry’s professional officials, is committed to presenting historical and religious issues accurately and with the required sensitivity, as part of the State of Israel’s ongoing public diplomacy activity around the world.”